NIEPA-UBEC Workshop Tackles Challenges in School Management, Charts Way Forward

A 5-day capacity-building workshop on Effective School Management in the 21st Century, jointly organized by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), has successfully ended with an appeal to relevant stakeholders in the education sector to address the challenges facing public primary schools in Nigeria.

Held at NIEPA’s corporate headquarters in Ondo, the workshop brought together Headteachers, Education Officers, and Principals of Junior Secondary Schools from the southwest region to enhance their skills and knowledge on effective school management.

In his opening remarks, Acting Director-General of NIEPA, Dr. David Shofoyeke, emphasized the crucial role of Teacher Professional Development in improving education quality. He stressed that school leadership plays a vital role in creating a conducive learning environment and fostering a positive school culture. Dr. Shofoyeke urged participants to embrace instructional leadership, team building, and collaborative problem-solving to address the challenges facing schools.

The workshop identified unfavorable government policies, teacher shortages, rural-urban migration, indiscipline, under-enrollment in rural areas, undue political influence, and school security concerns as major challenges. Participants recommended policy changes to increase enrollment, employing more qualified teachers, compensating rural teachers, providing security personnel in schools, and addressing multigrade teaching challenges.

The participants commended NIEPA for the impactful workshop and urged relevant stakeholders to take necessary action to address these challenges and improve the quality of education in Nigeria.